Crude futures mark record close for a front-month contract

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- October crude climbed 74 cents to close at $78.23 a barrel Tuesday, marking the highest closing level for the front-month contract traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange. OPEC agreed to raise actual production levels by 500,000 barrels per day and lift the cartel's quota to 27.2 million barrels per day as of Nov. 1, according to news reports. But Charles Perry, chairman of Perry Management said "just about everyone is skeptical of OPEC increasing their production very much" with many members near their peak production.

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